Is That A Robot?
by LogicIsTheUltimateWeapon
Summary: Max Kenton needed a miracle. And when the preteen met a black and yellow Camaro with his teenage charges, he was pretty sure he found it. Can both sides help each other get back to normal? AU and G1 Elements.
1. Chapter 1: Depression

**A/N: S****aw Real Steel with my little cousin and I loved all the robots - many Transformer elements. Plus the fight with Atom and Zeus was effing epic and I don't care what all the haters say!**

**Summary:**** Max hasn't been having a good day, Charlie has been sinking into the depths of depression. The preteen needed a miracle, and when he met a black and yellow Camaro with his teenage charges - the child was pretty sure he just found it. Can both sides help each other get back to normal? Multi-Chap fic.**

**Continuities:**** Transformers Movieverse, AU Elements (Continues after 2007 movie, G1 Elements), and follows Reel Steel.**

**Warnings:**** Cussing, Boxing violence.**

**Disclaimer:**** Alright, I own NOTHING that is licensed here! ...Which is actually really sad. :(**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - Depression<strong>

It was the year 2020.

Robots have taken over the boxing industry, much to many fans' delight; just recently one specific robot has become a crowd favourite. And his name, was Atom.

Charlie Kenton was a former professional boxer, former owner of Ambush and the famous Noisy Boy, and is now currently a father to Max Kenton. He used to be vain, overconfident, and most of the time - reckless.

Yet, during the quick length of one year, he's learned many things; how to be yourself, how money is not the most important thing in the world, the depth of his love for family, how to feel, how not to judge a book by its cover.

And that last important lesson is exactly how he got like he is today - with a wonderful girlfriend, named Bailey Tallet, a spunky kid, and a G2 Sparring Robot named Atom.

It was sad though, good times usually never last.

I guess this was one of these times.

And now it was November 6, 2021, a year after the fight with Zeus at the WRB, World Robot Boxing League, when disaster struck.

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><p>They were at Bailey's boxing gym again. Bailey was sitting on the edge of one of the boxing rings, reading a newspaper and drinking some coffee, swinging her legs slightly. A light breeze came from an open window, making her dark hair bob slightly in it's ponytail. She sighed serenely. All was peaceful.<p>

Even Max was relaxing today, he had just finished practicing fighting with Atom and was now drinking some soda on the table at the far side of the gym, where Atom was usually sat at when he was in need of repairs. Atom, himself, followed Charlie, mimicking his movements with that nifty Shadow Boxing tool of his.

"Hey Max," Bailey greeted, to which Max replied to with a distracted grunt. The woman shook her head in bemusement before greeting Atom, "Hey, 'People's Champion.'"

Max stopped at that, the slightest traces of pride and smugness outlining his face, and he waved, rousing Atom to do the same (though it wasn't like the robot had the consciousness to be coherent enough to understand his movements...at least, that's what the woman thought). Bailey chuckled at this.

The door at the entrance of the gym creaked slightly as it was opened. Bailey twisted and turned around to tell whoever had entered that they were closed, only to come face to face with a familiar person.

"Charlie!" She greeted with a smile.

"Hey dad," Max also acknowledged, a grin appearing on his face. He quickly switched off Atom's shadow boxing feature, before running up to the man and affectionately punching him in the shoulder.

Charlie laughed at that, "You need to work a little harder if you want to beat me, son." He noogied the boy playfully before excusing himself.

"Now if you two will excuse me," He gave them one more smile before exiting to a small, hidden room, that only the three knew about, in the gym.

Max and Bailey smiled back, before the caring expressions were abruptly wiped off their faces.

"You saw it this time, right?" Max inquired to the taller woman.

She sighed, shoulders deflating slightly, "His expression..."

Max nodded, "It was strained. Bailey, there's something wrong with him."

Bailey had to agree, despite Max's naturally blunt nature, he was right this time. Was Charlie really sinking into the depths of depression? This was serious, right after Charlie became himself again, with the help of Max and Atom, he was becoming depressed? About what? Why? What's going to happen?

Questions, so many questions, were running through the heads of both humans alike. There was an anxious silence for a minute or two, before Max sighed, resigned, and stated, "I'm going out for a walk with Atom." Then left, leaving Bailey to watch his retreating figure as he went.

...

Max ran through the empty streets with Atom. Both jogging, with Atom's shadow feature back on. They turned a familiar corner on the route they had always taken, but were met with a foreign sight.

The preteen's heart raced, he could feel it beating hard at the sight. Behind him, Atom's systems could be heard whirring, as he too, stopped jogging behind the boy. They both stood, Max staring.

He gulped, before finding his lost voice, "Is...Is that a robot?"

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><p>This...was bad.<p>

Like, really bad.

And not the kind of 'Please don't break up with me' bad, but the whole 'OH CRAP I'M FUCKED' bad.

Do you want to know why this is bad?

Because Sam was officially lost.

He just couldn't understand how this happened, an hour ago he was at Mikaela's place, picking her up to bring her to the Autobot base so they could chill there for the weekend. But, somehow, they ended up stranded in some dark alley in who knows what place they were in!

...He supposed that the bright white light that engulfed them should have given him a clue to how they got here.

"'Bee!" The boy groaned, his palm meeting forehead, "Please tell me we're not lost."

The Camaro shifted nervously in his bi-pedal form, his head ducked slightly in nervousness, and also to hide himself behind a building. His doorwings tucked almost flat against his back.

_"Sorry-_bzzt_-But-_kzgt_-We have a problem-"_ He played out in clips of radio.

Another exasperated groan, "Bumblebee, we were supposed to go back with Mikaela, not get lost on our way to base!"

Leaning against the wall of said building 'Bee was hiding behind, Mikaela could be seen sighing and looking particularly tired, "Give him a break Sam. You were the one giving him the directions."

"Which is why I told you we should've never gotten that GPS! Those things should never be trusted," He countered, only to get backhanded.

The yellow and black Camaro merely watched, his optics shuttering at times. _"_Krzzt_-Sorry,"_ He replied again, to which he got an affectionate pat on the leg by Mikaela and a sympathetic smile from Sam.

"It's alright, 'Bee. It wasn't your fault anyways." Sam sighed, then perked up, "For now, why don't we look around and go sightseeing!"

Mikaela grinned, "Best idea you've had all day."

Yet, as soon as Sam turned around and saw a kid staring at him, or more paticularly - behind him and at Bumblebee, he knew he had reached the level of 'bad' that surpasses 'OH CRAP I'M FUCKED' bad.

"Is...Is that a robot?" The kid asked.

Sam looked back at 'Bee, then looked at the boy once again suspiciously, "Yes..." He then saw a robot behind the kid and it was his turn to stammer, "I-Is _that_ a robot?"

The brown-haired child also looked behind him, causing Atom to turn his head behind him. Then the boy jerked his thumb behind him, and with a tilt of his head, asked, "You mean you don't know who he is?"

"Uh...no."

"He's Atom! You know, 'The People's Champion!' He versed Zeus in the WRB and survived, tarnishing that gorilla-bot's reputation! How do you _NOT_ know? It's the biggest news in the history of Robot Boxing _ever_!" The child threw his hands up in the air in disbelief.

Sam watched suspiciously as the supposed 'Atom' threw his hands up in the air, copying the boy's actions. The teen shook his head and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Wait, robot boxing?"

Mikaela snorted in disbelief, then muttered, "What do you mean robots? Who are you? And where did you get Atom?"

"My name is Max," The preteen stated, "And Atom is from...well, that's _classified_. And, I mean, you should know about robot boxing, you have a robot of your own, don't you? Where did you get him? He's pretty big, reminds me of a car. Although, he doesn't seem much like a boxer. Is he a sparring robot like Atom? Nah, his frame's too big..."

Mikaela and Sam looked at each other as Max continued to ramble on about one of his favourite joys in life. They looked back at Bumblebee.

'Bee, however, was scanning the robot in front of him. There was no spark signature resonating from it and it copied all of the boy's movements.

For all 'Bee cared, this was practically a drone in front of him. Yet, there was something about this 'Atom' however that told Bumblebee something was about to change - probably considering this robot.

Max snapped his fingers, "Maybe he is a boxer. I'd like to see this guy verse the Twin Cities. 'Bet that would be a real show."

This kid made Sam real nervous, the teenager decided. He looked anywhere but him and his robot, and all of a sudden saw an advertisement on a billboard.

"No...No, that's..impossible," He thought to himself, before asking outloud, "Hey..Max?"

The kid stopped, "What?"

"What...what year is it?"

"...you stupid?" He asked incredulously, before chastisting himself, "Oh God, sorry, that was rude. I really have to stop that, but seriously, you don't know?"

Mikaela seemed suspicious as to where Sam was getting to, but he shook his head in the negative.

Max sighed, "It's the year 2021."

A silence reigned over the five before Mikaela yelped.

"WHAT?"

* * *

><p>It was over.<p>

But was it enough?

He'd protected his family, his loved ones, and they helped him in return, and everything should've been good. But, it didn't feel like enough. Now that he wasn't '_Charlie, the guy who made money off of killing robots',_ but was now '_Charlie, the awesome dad and epic boxer'_, he felt like he could be someone Max could look up to, someone to take away all of his child's pain, but it was too much. What if Max thought he was actually a failure?

Was he really someone Max could look up to?

He had been such a bad influence before? Thankfully Max was already so grown up. Maybe Charlie had just been using those robots to distract himself from the pain, from the denial...

...had he?

Was he really such a bad dad?

Everybody probably thinks he's a horrible boxer, too. Yes, that's it. Bailey and Max were just taking pity on him.

There was no real love, no happiness. Just pain.

Was Charlie blowing all this out of proportion? He might as well have been, wouldn't make much of a difference now.

Charlie brought a hand to his face and scrubbed at the stubble, his eyes closed tightly as the pounding in his head got worse. This was all too much, too confusing, and it hurt. Physically, too.

In the small closet at the back of the gym, there the man sat on a small stool. His hand clenched on his face until he was sure his knuckles turned white. Max didn't really accept him, did he? He was hurting Max wasn't he?

How? Don't ask him, he just knew.

Or...or was he really just being stupid? Over exaggerating?

Maybe...or not...

This was starting to get puzzling. It was so confusing, too. How was Charlie supposed to choose between his mind and his heart?

Another excruciating throb of pain brought the ex-boxer back to reality.

He heard a loud crash and, after exhaling and rubbing his temples to calm himself of another headache, got up off the stool to go see what it was.

The world spun for a second, forcing him to hold onto a nearby counter to make sure he didn't collapse. After steadying his feet and making sure he could control himself and his balance, he headed for the exit.

Charlie got up and took cautious steps towards the door before letting it slide open in front of him. Yet, what he saw surprised him.

In front of him, was a big robot. It looked suspiciously like a car and it was black and yellow. Innocent, shining, blue optics shuttered before looking straight at him. On the robot's shoulders were two teenagers, also now looking at him. Below, he saw Max and Bailey, only just noticing him now and seeing his panicked look, they sent him reassuring smiles.

"Max?" He asked, his voice suspiciously hoarse.

"Yeah dad?"

"Did you buy another robot?"

Bailey's beautiful laugh rang out, "Nope. Been there, done that with Ambush and Noisy Boy." She chuckled more at Charlie's pointed look, "These guys, are Bumblebee, Sam, and Mikaela."

"Hi," A girl, probably Mikaela, greeted from atop the robot.

The other teenager beamed, "Hey, I'm Sam."

The robot...surprisingly, actually...raised it's arm..and waved, then made a noise in...greeting.

"How is your robot moving on it's own?" Charlie asked, flabbergasted, his feet moving on their own as he got closer to the 'bot, curiosity overtaking him.

Sam fidgeted, "Erm, well, he's not exactly a robot. I mean, yeah, he is, but...it's complicated."

Max shrugged when Charlie sent him a look, "They wouldn't tell me anything."

Mikaela smirked, a look directed at Max, "Becuase that's _classified_ information."

The boy huffed at that, but shot her a smirk back after a moment.

Immediately, Max's coy/business side came out. "Alright, well, if you tell us where your robot is from and how he is doing that, we'll tell you what you want to know. Eh, might even help you if it's important." He gave them a smirk. Max was practically playing the part of a car's salesmen, who's first priority was, _"Hey there! Now, how can I get you inside one of these cars?"_

Sam seemed to roll the idea round in his head, eyelids closing for a moment in thought, before he relaxed into a more comfortable position. "Alright, but listen to us first."

"Shoot."

"Well, I know this is going to sound weird, but...we aren't exactly..from here."

Max nodded, "Well duh, I mean, you obviously couldn't have been from here if you've never heard of the WRB."

Mikaela shook her head negatively, "No, we mean...we aren't exactly from your...dimension?" She looked at Sam as if asking if that was the right word to explain it. After he nodded in confirmation, she continued, "I mean, from where we're from, robots like these haven't even been invented yet! So, you can imagine our surprise seeing Atom and this 'WRB' stuff. It's not even 2020 in our world yet!"

"But you have a robot of your own, and obviously he's a fighter," Max pointed out, looking at all the dents and scratches Bumblebee acquired.

"Well, yes, he's a robot, but he's alive, and well, an alien." Sam countered slowly.

Bailey, Max, and Charlie all stared at them with deadpanned looks.

Mikaela protested, "We're serious! They've got a whole war going on and everything."

Bumblebee nodded.

Now, seeing as this was the year 2020 and all technology was way more advanced, the three WRB-fans weren't convinced.

"You're not serious, right?" Bailey questioned.

Sam and Mikaela were gently lowered to the ground, courtesy of Bumblebee. Sam, undeterred, still stated, "No, really! Here, look, he can even transform into a Camaro!"

And soon enough, the unforgettable clicking and whirring of Bumblebee transforming filled the otherwise silent room, before he was in his alt mode - slightly worse for wear, but there nonetheless.

Bumblebee chirped happily in his own voice, "Autobot Scout Bumblebee, at your service!"

Max's eyes widened, "I...I guess I believe you."

Bailey nodded, eyes sparkling, "Me too."

Charlie remained silent however, and hoisted himself up onto the boxing ring's edge to sit down.

The man, although still in a denial-like state, pestered, "Alright, well then, you said something about a war going on with the robots. Mind explaining that whole shindig?"

Bumblebee seemed to contemplate over that for a second, before his headlights flashed. There was a soft whirring, before the Autobot was projecting a hologram of Cybertron in it's ruin as the war started - much like when Optimus had first met Sam and Mikaela.

"You see, I come from a planet called Cybertron, a means away from Earth. Sadly, it collapsed as a war waged on between the Autobots and the malevolent Decepticons, completely destroying it," There was a pause as Bumblebee had to gather himself slightly, "As I mentioned before, I am an Autobot - we're the good guys - lead by the great Optimus Prime. The bad guys, Decepticons, were lead by Megatron. We... came to Earth in search of the allspark - the vessel that will rebuild Cybertron and end this blasted war once and for all."

Sam sighed, and continued, "But, to save the world," An almost smug, yet sad air followed the boy's words after that, "I pushed the allspark into Megatron's chest - offlining him, hopefully ridding us of him once and for all."

"But the Autobots' mission is not yet over," Mikaela continued thoughtfully, "Starscream, the Decepticon Second in Command, is still in space - and there are still who knows how many 'Cons laying in wait in our... dimension." It still felt weird saying that, the girl mused.

"..."

Max jumped slightly, positively beaming, "This is just awesome! We got to help them! We have to!" He looked hopeful as his head fwipped around to look at Bailey and his dad.

"Well, I don't see why not," Bailey smiled, patting Max's head.

They all turned to Charlie, who sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. Abruptly, he stood up and started,

"Look, I mean, this isn't our problem-"

Max argued, "Doesn't mean we can't help them!"

"Look, Max," Charlie stated firmly, "We don't have time for this and it's too much-"

"Dad!" Max protested.

"No Max."

"But-"

"_NO, Max._ And that's final," And with that, Charlie walked out, slamming the door behind him with that ominous creak, leaving silence in his wake.

Bumblebee's mechanical whine could be heard and he sunk on his tires.

Max turned back to his audience, hands clenched and tears barely brimming in his eyes. He furrowed his brow before throwing a determined look to Mikaela, Sam, and 'Bee.

"Don't worry. We'll help you."

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><p>"So what's it like in your world? I mean, these Autocons and Deceptibots sound really cool! It's weird that only you guys know 'bout 'em, though." Max commented, catching the small football Sam had thrown at him.<p>

Sam corrected from slightly far away, "Actually, it's Auto_bots_ and Decepti_cons_."

"...Huh, I guess that makes more sense, doesn't it." The child's head tilted slightly, as he rested his chin in his palm.

As the two boys bonded, Mikaela and Bailey chattered at the picnic table, just far away enough as to not be disturbed.

Mikaela smiled at her companion, who offered her some soda, "Thanks."

"No problem," Bailey grinned, before sitting, "So, a whole war going on - just you, Sam, and some part of the government are the only ones who know..."

"That's right."

A content sigh, "Crazy."

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it," Mikaela snickered. "One time, Bumblebee, Sam, and I were in the recreation room at the Autobot base, and abruptly, tons of confetti floated through the air-"

A loud, mechanical whine could be heard from inside the building, interrupting whatever else the teenager would've said.

Sam turned, alarmed, and ran into the building, his companions following.

"Bumblebee?"

Said Autobot could be seen standing in front of Atom, who in fact, was laying on a repair table - optics powered down.

"Sam," 'Bee wondered, "This robot...can fight?"

Max, pushing his way to the front of the crowd of three, positively beamed, "You bet! He's the best in the business!"

Bumblebee shuttered his optics contemplatively, "Would you be offended if I asked you how?"

Bailey snorted, "Would he be offended? Please, you're practically feeding his ego right now."

Max glared at the brunnette, before answering to Bumblebee, "Not at _all!_ In fact, I'll show you right now!"

Yet, as soon as Max had turned on Atom fully and grabbed the robot's controller - there was a shout of fear.

"DECEPTICON!"

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><p><strong>Want a chapter two? Hit the pretty little button down there and review!<strong>

**Anyways, got any suggestions and constructive criticism? They feed the bunnies. No flames please, I'll have Prowl, Ratchet, and Zeus deal with those.**

**And if you have any questions about the story, feel free to ask away! I know I'm _so_ not perfect in story-writing...**


	2. Chapter 2: Fight

**A/N: Ooh! An update! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Warnings: Cussing, overall violence.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Real Steel, I'd beat Tak Mashido with a stick. If I owned Transformers, I'd beat Megatron with a stick! But that never happened, so...you guys get it.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 - Fight<strong>

Starscream had been having a _bad_ day. He had been following the Autobot's yellow bug and his human fleshlings, until his trine and himself were engulfed by a bright light and transported to some 'alternate universe.'

The mech snorted at the thought. How stupid.

"Hello! Hi!" Skywarp beamed as he walked past the humans, who seemed not surprised, but slightly bothered at his presence. The three had been dropped by the mysterious force in the middle of a crowd of humans - fortunate for them, though, nobody ran away screaming. The mech beamed, he was totally getting a kick out of this.

Thundercracker, however, was feeling disgruntled. He had a scowl on his face as he pushed his way through the streets of this place. He had been hearing stuff muttered from the squishy humans for the past half hour along the lines of 'What kind of fighter models are those? They have wings! And who is their owner?' and 'How can they be moving on their own? Are they even more advanced than Mashido's Robot Champion, Zeus?' with even more 'That's impossible!' exclamations following.

Who the heck was _Mashido or Zeus_ anyways?

It was about five minutes later when their trine leader cracked; the trio was in some abandoned alley.

Starscream scowled, and turning his head back to his trinemates, snapped, "You two!" As their attentions returned to him, he nodded curtly, "Let's get away from these organics and try to contact our Oh mighty leader Megatron." The last part was said with so much sarcasm it wasn't even funny.

The two nodded, and were about to transform until an all too familiar shriek interrupted them.

"DECEPTICON!"

In unison, the multi-coloured helms swiveled behind them to see two certain fleshies they knew all too well.

Starscream's eyes widened, before they narrowed into slits, his scowl morphing into a smirk, "Ooh look, you two. It's _the boy_."

Skywarp snickered, "The boy? Man, Screamer, you must love the nicknames."

The tri-coloured robot was about to retort until a shot from a certain Autobot's blaster scorched his side, rousing him to hiss in pain.

Crimson optics reached up and met baby blue ones. Bumblebee stared in defiance, his blaster raised and locked on all three seekers.

Starscream growled, "Oh, you shouldn't have done that Autobug!" Before launching himself at the black and yellow camaro - the two rolling as 'Bee was tackled.

...

Inside the gym, Bailey and Max were being pulled away to safety by Sam and Mikaela, but the preteen protested. Bumblebee had spotted a Decepticon outside the window and went to go take care of it, but Max had stated in firm defiance that he wanted to help.

Grunting, Sam yelled over the racket outside, "MAX! We need to go!"

The smaller boy shook his head, "No! Those guys are Decepticons, right? Bumblebee won't be able to face them by himself!" He scrambled free out of Sam's hold in the teenager's moment of hesitance, and he grabbed the controller.

Bailey stepped forward, "Max! What are you doing?" She grabbed his hand and proceeded to rip Atom's controller from him, but the child kept a firm grip.

"Bailey, we need to help him! I...I promised! I _promised_ I would help them, Bailey!" He still pestered, trying to get the controller back from the taller woman.

"But..." She hesitated. Max was Charlie's child, and Bailey considered him her adopted son, as well. Could she let him do this? She had also promised Charlie...

A small hand laid ontop of hers gently, squeezing it in reassurance. She looked into the face of her 'son.'

Max smiled at her with determination plastered on his face. "Trust me, Bailey. I can do this."

A sigh came from the brunnette, before she caved. "Fine, but-" She grabbed Mikaela and Sam each by a wrist, "We're coming, too."

Max beamed, an innocently joyful smile on his face, and shook his head in amusement, "Duh!" He turned to the robot currently sitting on the repair table. Robotic eyes and face lit up a sky blue, and with one simple command from the controller, Atom turned his head to face them.

He may have faced them because of the command, regardless, it still seemed as if the robot did it himself. Max smiled as he came to this realization, and ran past the robot, turning on commands and switches on the controller swiftly, prompting the robot to follow after him.

"Come on Atom, we have a fight to win!"

* * *

><p>What the hell was wrong with him?<p>

He had just run out on Max and Bailey like that, never done anything like that before.

...Okay, maybe he had, but he hadn't ever felt this bad before!

Maybe he really was a failure. The man's head ached as he thought.

_"Charlie was the number two top contender in the world in boxing."_

Charlie grimaced as he thought of the expectations once put on him.

_"He could deal out punches just as good as he received - he could take it, hit for hit."_

Sighing, he shook his head of such thoughts. he could dwell on them later, right now, he needed to get back home - or at least back to the boxing gym.

Charlie turned the corner of the street where Bailey's gym was located, a hand scrubbing his face - a habit he'd seemed to have acquired recently - and was going over the apology he'd no doubt have to recite once he was back with his family.

He took curt steps toward the building, until stopping altogether. Paralyzed in shock, he watched as 'Bumblebee' and another, larger, robot tussled and rolled on the ground, trading punches and hits quicker than any normal human could have even tried. Obviously, the two were enemies, and, remembering what he had been told earlier about a 'war', he ran faster to the entrance of the gym to make sure his child and girlfriend were alright, until he was picked up by a large servo.

"Now, what have we found here?" A snicker.

Another voice exclaimed, "Look TC! It's another human! Can we keep this one as a pet?"

Charlie's brows rose in shock. Oh, nononono, _NO WAY_, was Charlie Kenton becoming a...a pet!

Yet, as much as he struggled and snarled insults at the two, they'd just laugh or shrug it off. It was impossible to punch the servo as it was metal and if Charlie even tried to land a solid punch, he'd be twisting his arm uncomfortably, not being able to land a solid hit.

Thundercracker was taking much amusement at seeing the human in his hand struggle. So weak, pathetic.

But before the blue and white mech could even insult the organic again, a punch was landed straight to his faceplates.

"Argh!" He flailed, as he felt the metal buckle from underneath an unusually small, yet nonetheless powerful, fist. There went his nasal ridge.

In TC's flailing, Charlie was thrown slightly, only to land ontop of Bailey, Sam, and Mikaela - Max having dodged his flying father a second earlier.

The three who'd been used as a safety mat, groaned in pain. Charlie sat up (on Sam to be specific) and rubbed the back of his head.

"What the hell is going on here?" He yelled over the sounds of screeching metal and war cries.

"Decepticons showed up! We need to fight them off or we'll all be toast!" Sam replied, a little muffled, albeit there.

The man understood. This was a fight, the good stuff, the real steel! He looked over to Max and watched in amazement as Atom bent into a squatting position, prompting Thundercracker to come at him with the 'come at me' sign, before the robot shot up into the air, arm swinging as he landed a well-executed double uppercut across TC's chin - The larger robot stumbling back a few paces.

Charlie ran towards Max's position off to the side, controlling Atom's movements. "You've gotten better," He commented almost absently, watching as Max maneuvered Atom to dance around the blue and white winged robot.

"Thanks."

Charlie watched as Atom performed that nifty jump again, launching him many feet high into the air. "Now, how the heck did you teach 'im to do that?"

Max grunted as the bigger robot landed a solid punch on Atom, "I took notes in my mind, watching Zeus jump at the WRB before - his stance, the hydraulics in his legs, all that jazz. Then, I got that Mikaela girl to help me with it a little bit - apparently she's a Cybertronian medic in training or somethin' like that. I'm going to need to fix some things in Atom's hip joints later on, though," The boy's brow furrowed as he studied Atom's opponent. "Counter right!" He yelled as he pressed controls on the controller for his robot to do just that.

Charlie nodded in understanding, before, "Wait..."

"What?"

"Weren't there three robots?"

A purple flash was all the warning the two got before another purple and black winged robot appeared behind Atom, taking the smaller by the arm and easily slamming him to the ground.

"Shit! That one can teleport!" Max cursed, prompting Atom to stand up with a combination of keys on his controller.

Charlie watched as Atom tried to get to his feet, only to be knocked down by one of the winged robot's ped.

"Nonononono! Get up, get up, gettup!" Max screamed, rapidly pressing controls onto the controller.

The father was about to try and get in there, but a shriek of pain bestowed their ears. Suddenly, the other two winged robots fell to their knees, holding their chests, as if in pain. Charlie shook his head, of course they were in pain, they were freaking sentient robots!

Finally Atom was free to get up, albeit slowly because of his crushed chest armor, as the other two hissed in pain. Above, the unforgettable sound of an F-22 jet engine could be heard, along with Starscream's pained yell of vengeance.

"Lucky shot, Autobug! BUT THIS TIME WON'T BE THE LAST TIME WE MEET!"

Growling and snarling one more time at the humans, the two seekers reluctantly took off into the air, following their, obviously injured, trine mate.

As the tension calmed from the battle, all the humans panting in shock and tiredness, Bumblebee rolled in. He had a slightly flat tire, and one of his doors were completely crumpled inwards, glass in the door shattered, and he was sporting new dents and scrapes everywhere adding to his previous ones. Overall, he was worse for wear, but there nonetheless.

As Max controlled Atom to walk up to him, so he could inspect the damage, he wondered that if next time he fought, maybe using the voice recognition would be better. As his son thought of different scenarios and strategies, however, Charlie turned to him with a frown.

"You sweared."

Throwing his hands up in disbelieve, Max shouted, "We were just fighting evil robots and that's all you can think about?"

* * *

><p>A means away, Tak Mashido looked out the large window on the second level of his house, only being able see a large expanse of forest. He could open the sliding door and take a step out onto the balcony into the open world, but with a scowl, he decided against it. Closing the curtains roughly, he stormed into the large vacant space in his mansion, the wide corridor leading into multiple rooms with sliding doors and key pads. He was in the mansion that he only vacationed in when he was musing hard about something.<p>

Yes. He was taking a vacation, nothing more.

At least that's what he told himself.

He growled low in his throat. Not much as a man for words, he headed to the training room where Farra was, obviously criticizing Zeus, while one of their employees tested out his new upgrades. The large robot was facing another old Generation 2 robot that Mashido had been able to dig up.

The two employees still working for Tak Mashido and Farra Lemcova were off to the sides, behind the training ring set up for just this purpose. After Zeus had faced that weak, brittle, stupid G2 sparring bot named _Atom_ a year ago, Mashido had set out on a quest to make Zeus better, so he could indefinitely be invincible, unbeatable.

He still remained the Champion in the WRB, but the man couldn't stand the paparazzi and the bad publicity he was getting back there. He quit, and drove off into one of his many homes. Here, secluded and isolated from most of the civilization, he was free to do what he wanted, free to study Zeus even deeper, to get into the depths of the robot's processor.

But it was a year later. And what did he have? Nothing, nada, zippo.

_He. Had. Nothing._

Those words grated his mind as he thought. Shutting them away, however, he focused on watching Zeus as he and the other robot sparred.

They circled each other; sizing each other up as if they were actually sentient. But they weren't. And that's all Mashido really thought of them - machinery used for his own greedy purposes, and nothing else.

Zeus' hydraulics roared as he slammed his arms together menacingly, as if taunting his opponent. The other robot, another sparring model, was bouncing repeatedly, shifting it's weight from left to right in anticipation. It was meant to take a lot of hits, and with multiple tweaks here and there from Mashido, was able to dish out more than it looked like it was worth.

Zeus charged the other robot at the same time it did. The robot ducked under the pile-driver like arms of the massive black 'bot, dancing out of the way and behind - only to have Zeus turn the full way, spinning, as he dished the punch out and handed an uppercut towards the other. He had also been tampered with, given more ability and freedom to move quicker than his opponent over the course of a couple months. The sparring robot had to stumble back in reciprocation of the hit, but still stood its ground nonetheless.

Again and again, it seemed for them to be even, and the more hits dealt onto Zeus' plating, the more frustrated Mashido was getting.

Farra snorted as Zeus managed to deal out a three punch combo straight to the other's abdomen.

"He's gotten soft," She sneered, "This is stupid. He needs to be able to move more."

Mashido grunted in irritation.

Yet as the two were going to turn away to discuss the matter, there was a loud resounding clang as Zeus gave the other a hit to the kisser in the form of a left uppercut, completely knocking his head off with the force. The sparring robot, in one last desperate attempt to retaliate, tried to hit Zeus blindly, only to have the black 'bot catch his arm and rip it off with his retracting pile driver-like attachment.

Mashido watched in fascination as he thought he saw his robots' optics flash red for a second before cooling down to their usual indigo - cold, ice-like almost. The robot's demeanor almost seemed angry as he towered over the fallen G2 robot.

Turning back to the robot, Mashido watched as Zeus retreated back to his corner and posed in victory, courtesy of the employee with his controller - much like he had at the beginning of that match with Atom, the beginning of the bad publicity, his ruined reputation.

Now this, thought the man, was interesting indeed.

...

It had been almost a week later - Tak had ordered his crew to experiment on Zeus. He wanted his robot stronger, more agile, more bigger, he wanted Zeus to be able to move his legs more, he needed stronger armor.

Mashido needed the perfect robot.

Now it had been a whole week since he had seen his robot's optics turn red in rage; almost like he was coherent to process thoughts, to be sentient.

Sentient robots. Mashido marveled at the thought.

He had buried himself in research on the very fact of having robots who could think, experience, feel, _learn_.

And just recently, he had been informed of three winged robots who seemed to fit that very description that had been seen wandering lost lately.

In his obsessive journey for perfection, to be the master, to have Zeus be unbeatable, Mashido needed these robots.

He _wanted_ these robots.

And, if past experience taught him anything, if there was something Tak Mashido wanted, he received.

* * *

><p>Back at the Autobot base, Optimus and the command staff were having a crisis. Bumblebee, Autobot Special Ops. Agent and Scout, was missing and had been for a couple days already. No reports have been heard and he hadn't been seen since he had disappeared.<p>

It was like he had just vanished into thin air.

What was also weird was that, if Mirage's information could be trusted (which it always could be depended on), at the Decepticon's base, it seems that Megatron's elite trine of seekers was missing, and had gone missing around the same time Bumblebee had, presumably with Sam and Mikaela.

A great sigh was heaved from the Autobot leader as he rubbed his temples to soothe an inevitable processor-ache. How had this happened?

Red Alert was currently fritzing, as it was yet another staff meeting, and suggested feverishly, "Perhaps some mysterious source took them and engulfed them in a bright white light! What if they were taken to a different dimension! YES! That's it! We're all next! We'll start disappearing one by one!"

Prowl sighed and scowled at the illogical-ness of it all, "Very unlikely." He stated flatly, doorwings twitching once in irritation as no doubt his battle computer was calculating different scenarios about the situation at this very moment.

Ironhide snorted in his seat, while Ratchet facepalmed.

"Oh for Primus' sake," The CMO groaned.

It seemed as if the meeting was going to turn into a disaster again, until all of a sudden a strange buzzing noise came from somewhere in the room.

Everything fell silent as they tried to locate the source of the noise. Optimus' optics widened as he opened his subspace and took out a vibrating device - the thing making the buzzing sound.

"Now, if I may ask, what is _that_?" Prowl inquired.

Optimus chuckled sheepishly, "Mikaela gave this to me and she said that she'd call if there ever was an emergency. I, erm, apologize for not informing you about it, Prowl." The Praxian merely huffed once again.

The Autobot opened the transormers-sized cellphone-like object, and rumbled in that deep voice of his, "Hello?"

_"Man, I never thought I'd feel 'dis relieved hearin' the Autobot Leader's voice!"_

Optimus' surprise was clearly evident in his voice, "Wheelie?"

_"The one and only!"_

"What are you doing on this line?" The red and blue flamed mech asked.

_"Well, you see, here's the thing. I snuck onto Bumblebee so I would be able to see Warrior Goddess again, but just as I was about to reveal myself when she got into the Camaro, a huge light came out of nowhere and engulfed us!"_

Silence, before, "You're kidding me, right?"

Wheelie snorted over the line, _"If I was kidding, then I wouldn't be calling you right now, would I?"_

Ratchet, having been able to overhear the call, asked, "Wait, you say Bumblebee, Sam, and Mikaela? Where are they right now?"

_"Now, we're getting somewhere. You see, I'm in some alternate dimension where there's something called 'Robot Boxing' and I have no idea where those three are! If what the humans here are saying is true, then apparently it's the year 2021 here. I was dropped in some random dude's house and I'm currently one hiding spot away from turning into trash. All I know is, you need to get over here right now!"_

Ironhide crossed his arms, "Why should we help that piece of scrap metal?"

_"You're not so hot yourself, Autobrat."_

But before Ironhide could retort, he was silenced by Optimus, "Because Sam, Mikaela, and Bumblebee are there, that's why."

_"Oh slag! Someone's coming! I need to go now, I got to hide this cellphone-thingy I stole from Mikaela before I can hide myself. I'll call again later! You guys do that thing where there's a dramatic scene and then you come out of it with a brilliant plan - okay, see ya!"_

There was silence in the room, before Red Alert stood up, horns sparking and arms flailing, and shrieked, "TOLD YOU!" Before running out of the room.

Prowl sighed, before comm. linking Inferno to calm down the distressed Security Director.

Things had just gotten so much better.

* * *

><p><strong>Anyone think I should be adding this to the Crossover Category for Transformers and Real Steel?<strong>

**In other news, I hope everyone took the time to consider today's Remembrance Day! Plus the date today is 11 11 11! Haha, how cool!**

**Anyways, if you guys wanted more action, let me tell you, the next chapter might take a little longer to update just for that purpose - there's also going to be more Zeus vs. Atom action eventually so wish me luck, I'm really pumped, I want to try my luck on writing a boxing scene.**

**R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3: Captured?

**A/N: I. Am. A. Horrible. Author. I apologize for the wait, but right now I can't guarantee regular updates, though I'll try. The muse has gone and left me and I'm desperately trying to keep my grip on it.**

**Warnings: Cussing, mentions of character death. Also, I apologize extremely for the lack of boxing/fighting in this chapter if that's what you're looking for - I'll add more next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: If only... *sighs***

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 - Captured?<strong>

It was once again another morning at the Autobot base. 'Bots and humans alike were moving back and forth, hustling and bustling. Yet, something wasn't right. Optimus' optics were too dull, Prowl's doorwings were raised too high and his steps were more curt than usual, heck, even Bluestreak wasn't as talkative today! _Bluestreak!_

It was Jazz's death all over again.

Yet, they knew Bumblebee wasn't deactivated yet - Wheelie was proof. The last call had given them hope, therefore, driving them further and further to find the frustratingly complicated answer to this long equation.

How were they going to be able to, somehow, 'teleport' over to the 'dimension' Wheelie had so-called claimed they were 'in'?

And so the journey began.

Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor had all gotten to work. Trying to retrace Wheelie's location through the device given to Optimus from Mikaela. Wheeljack and Perceptor had been amazed by the concept of other dimensions - something they had thought about, but never decided to explore any further, because there had been no reason to. But, there was a reason now!

So the three mechs had been working for the past 4 Earth days and 5 nights trying to figure out how: Number one, how Wheelie had been able to contact them from another dimension through a mere cellphone line; Number two, to trace where the signal was coming from; Number three, how Bumblebee, his charges, and Wheelie were brought into the other dimension; and Number four, how to get there.

So far, they had gotten two out of four. Turns out, Mikaela had stolen some Cybertronian comm. links, or at least gotten them (they had a theory that it was courtesy of Sideswipe) from somebot, and had meshed it together with the human technology, therefore, somehow letting it contact this dimension, as long as the receiving end was here - which it was, courtesy of Optimus.

Now, tracing the signal on the other hand, is a different matter. The Autobots would need to be able to use one of those human satellites that were used just for the purpose of cellphones and all that technology - they had first asked the government about it, although they had to disincline for some reason, saying they couldn't risk damaging the satellite. There was also a possibility of tracing different wavelengths in regards to different Cybertronian technology so that they may be able to trace their possible location, but it was much too complicated to try with their mere supply of human tools.

So, although they didn't like it, it was time for our favourite heroes to try the next best thing to gain their Cybertronian technology.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Mikaela, Sam, and Bumblebee were dropped into a different dimension. Yet, being as adaptable as ever, they accepted that all they could do was wait and hope the Autobots had a plan to get them back.<p>

Max, Bailey, and Charlie (who was currently out and about somewhere, trying to find some privacy once again) had also needed to adapt. It was hard explaining to people about Bumblebee - how the robot wasn't really sentient, just advanced. After all, if word got out that they had a sentient boxing robot, all mayhem would break out, well, everywhere! The newly arrived Seekers, however, weren't helping that theory at all...

Yet, in other and lighter news, the yellow and black Camaro and his charges were welcome to seek refuge in Bailey's boxing gym for as long as they needed - courtesy of Max and his puppy dog face.

And that's exactly what they were doing right now, the two teenagers were sitting together in the middle of the ring, while Bumblebee was recharging in his alt mode beside said ring. Max, himself, was at the 'repair bay' part of the room, you could call it, as he worked on an offline Atom who was a little bit dinged and scratched up from the battle with the seekers, but fine nonetheless.

The boy was working on studying some blueprints he had gotten on the basic anatomy of a Cybertronian, thanks to Bumblebee, and had been working on trying to get Atom's armor to the same level as the Camaro's. He wasn't trying to turn Atom to the same level as said Cybertronian, oh of course not, it would just be nice to have stronger armor if possible to reduce the amount of work he'd have to do if Atom got damaged in battle.

Max grabbed some tools from a different table, before walking to where the sparring 'bot was. He trailed a small hand over the robot's face. It was cold. Max sighed, something was off, there was something not right about his robot ever since that battle.

His robot. His Atom.

The boy absently searched for a screwdriver, his eyes never leaving Atom's face, when suddenly a sharp prick stabbed his palm.

"Aw, fuck!" The boy cursed as he grabbed the tool the wrong way. " Ugh..." _Amateur mistake! _He chastised himself.

Mikaela stood up and leaned onto the roped of the ring, "Not feeling yourself, today, Max?"

Said child looked up with a scowl, just as Sam also got up to stand beside his girlfriend, "You know, you really got to stop swearing."

Max merely grunted irritably in reply before inspecting his hand. He flailed it slightly as the pain faded to a dull throb and immediately went to work back onto Atom. After testing all of the joints and doing a triple check on the damages from last time, once again, he finally onlined Atom and turned on his shadow feature. It was much better this way - more fun as well.

Trying to lighten the mood considerably, Mikaela suggested, "So your robot has a 'shadow feature' thing, right?"

"Mm-hm."

Taking the hint, Sam asked, "You ever try to do anything fun with that?"

There was a small silence, before Max solemnly walked over to the other side of the room, Atom following, and grabbed a boom box. Sam and Mikaela watched in amusement as he reluctantly turned on the boom box and looked back at them, scowl still in place.

Yet Sam and Mikaela could see the youth and entertainment shining in those brown eyes of his.

_"Here we go..."_

Max looked up and saw his robot staring back down at him. A small smile adorned his place, as he started to move.

_"This is the final moment, can't let them knock me down._

_"I'm ready and I know it, I gotta make it count..."_

The song that had become just oh so popular with the five in the room, started to play, just as Max and Atom began to move. They jumped, they spun back and forth, and of course added a few boxing movements here and there. It was poetic, the duo were so in sync that it amazed Sam and Mikaela. Atom really...

He really seemed alive then.

There was an engine rev just as the song reached it's peak, and it seemed Bumblebee was out of recharge and was tired of just watching. Immediately, the chipper young scout transformed, and danced his way over to the dancing duo. Sam and Mikaela laughed just as Max did. It had been way too long since they saw 'Bee move around again since the battle. He only had two energon cubes in his subspace left from when they'd first arrive, and he was worried about what would happen when those were finished.

Sam looked at his girlfriend expectantly, who raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"What?" She asked, perplexed.

The teenager beamed at her, "You know you want to join in."

She pouted, "I do not!" But at her boyfriend's unrelenting stare, she huffed and gave in with a small smile, "Okay, maybe a little."

They both laughed as they jumped down from the ring, and joined the others in dancing the robot.

...

It was maybe fifteen minutes later, when Bailey had promptly dragged Charlie in through the front door, and really, it shouldn't have surprised her when she saw the view, because she's seen so many crazy things in the past week, but...really, this just topped the list.

As they walked in, both adults decided to just shrug it off and laugh at the irony of two robots and three humans dancing the robot.

It had seemed like millenia since the last time Max saw Charlie laugh sincerely again.

* * *

><p>Mirage scaled the side of a large, by human standards, building that he knew all too well. Invisibility cloak on and electro-generator working silently, he moved with only the grace a practiced Noble could. His mission was to get into the Decepticon base and retrieve whatever Cybertronian technology the opposing faction still could have had. They needed it if they were going to continue their research on the whole 'different dimensions' conflict the 'bots were dealing with.<p>

Disabling the security sensors scanning the area around the entrance of the large base with skill only Special Ops mechs had, he sneaked inside undetected. He had to be quick, despite his invisibility advantage, there were surprises in the base like no other.

He was in his element, slipping from corridor to corridor, room to room. In the back of his processor, he could still hear Jazz snapping orders at him as if he was on this mission accompanying the Ligier model, and he faltered in his next steps.

The Master Spy's deactivation had been hard on everybody, including Mirage no matter how much he fell into the more anti-social group of the Autobots. He was the only one who was able to outstand the Noble's own skills, and the fellow spy gave Jazz his respect.

Shaking his helm with a grimace, Mirage huffed. There was no time for him to get distracted now.

Slipping into the next room, he straightened from his slightly crouched posture. His optics scanned the room, and a blip appeared in his vision. A piece of high-tech Cybertronian material lay on the table innocently, and he smiled internally at the sight. This could be useful to the mechs back at base.

He made a move to grab it and subspace the technology when an unnaturally large servo grabbed him by the back of his neck. He yelped as he was slammed into a wall, the same unforgiving servo clamped his neck, straining the metal and neck-cabling to the point of buckling.

Both of his own white servos shot up to try and pry the grey one off, to no use. Mirage winced, before shuttering his optics so the static cleared from his vision.

That's when he saw the other mech, his posture in a position to kill. An all-too-familiar metal bird was perched on the other's shoulder as a scorching red visor stared back at him, void of emotion. A battle mask settled over the majority of the mech's face and the tentacles sprouting from the mech's back and sides were really unnerving.

Mirage went limp.

"Soundwave..."

* * *

><p>It was now nighttime and everyone in Bailey's Gym was settling down for the day. Max and Charlie had returned to the latter's truck to sleep there for the night. Bumblebee was resting in his alt mode, deflating contently on his wheels.<p>

But then he heard it. A slight screech of metal.

'Bee was jerked from his light recharge, his special ops programming refusing to let him look like anything other than sleep, though. His systems ran silently, and the mech had to refuse the urge to blink his headlights to aid his vision in the pitch-black room. He onlined his night-vision, scanning for any signs of disturbance.

A bleep crossed his CPU. There was something moving in front of him, just past the ring where his charges slept. Risking further noise, he rolled forward slowly on his wheels just so he could see what was happening.

Silver metal gleamed in the dim moonlight form a single dusty window. If he was in root mode, Bumblebee would have shuttered his optics a the sight.

There was Atom. Alone. Practicing his boxing moves.

* * *

><p>How long had it been since they started travelling?<p>

Thundercracker didn't know, and he really didn't bother enough to keep count. It hadn't been too long since their fight with the Autobug, but then again he couldn't really be sure. His processor was all muddy.

Vaguely, he could hear Starscream's annoyed quips and Skywarp's teasing, but TC just couldn't concentrate. Sighing, he trudged on.

They would have been flying, except for the fact that they didn't have enough energon in their tanks to stay steady in their alt forms in the sky for long, and so they had been trudging through this forest they found, taking shelter here in hopes of their fellow Decepticons coming to get them.

The blue seeker scoffed at the idea.

Starscream's prodding at their trine bond pulled him out of his musings.

~Thundercracker? Are you alright? We've been trying to call you without any response.~

TC smiled despite himself. It was rare that Screamer showed concern for his fellow 'Cons - at least publicly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He didn't even consider talking through the bond.

Skywarp snorted while Starscream rolled his optics.

"Like Pit you are! Come on, let's go rest."

"Hurry up, TC, or we'll leave you behind!"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

And so for the rest of the day they lay under the tall - even for them - pine trees, unbeknownst to the deadly green optics and glinting brown eyes watching them.

"There they are... _my robots_."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I realize that I'm all over the place in this single chapter. I'm thinking of perhaps writing the different parts and updating them separately so there's no confusion? Your thoughts? For example, what happens at the Autobot base in one chapter, then in Real Steel's dimension in the next chapter. I would probably be doing that until the two finally come together.**

**Also, in the last chapter I stated Zeus had blue optics, well, scratch that because I'm wrong. Zeus actually has green-emerald optics and I apologize for any confusion.**

**Sorry for the short chapter. R&R please?**


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